Families urged to protect minors from digital dangers

By Gina Christian |
Catholic News Service

8/22/18

A mother views her cellphone while listening to a panel discussion on "Dignity and Safety in a Digital Age" at the pastoral congress of the World Meeting of Families Aug. 22 in Dublin. CNS photo/Gina Christian

DUBLIN — Behavioral scientists and cybercrime experts talked to
families about how digital distraction, pornography and the "online echo
chamber" impact their lives, during one of the first panels at the
international World Meeting of Families.

Pornography in particular has emerged as a threat to individual
and family life, said panelist Thomas Lickona, a developmental psychologist
from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Cortland.

Lickona cited numerous academic studies that document the
widespread use and long-term effects of online pornography. One study observed that
the average age at which boys in the U.S. and the U.K. begin to view internet
pornography is now 11.

The normalization of pornography, combined with its
"ubiquitous" distribution on social media platforms, leads to
depression, anxiety, promiscuity, teen pregnancy, sexual assault and
dysfunction, as well as marital infidelity, said Lickona. He listed several
resources for combating pornography, the most important of which is a
"family media plan."

"We need to make it clear that the use of the internet is a
privilege, not a right," Lickona said. "Usage should require parental
permission and be managed in a way consistent with the family's values."

Lickona's son Matthew, a San Diego-based journalist, shared his
personal experiences of managing digital media as a parent, while reflecting on
the often-damaging ways that social media reshapes self-perception and
identity. Although it may begin as a form of self-expression, social media can
quickly "trap us in an echo chamber" where we only listen to like-minded
people and "unfriend" or ignore those with whom we disagree.

In contrast, "you can't self-select your family," said
Matthew Lickona, adding that a true social life requires self-sacrifice and a
commitment to peace.

Mary Aiken, a cyberpsychologist at University College Dublin and
an academic adviser to Europol, the European Union's largest law enforcement
agency, moderated the panel. Noting that technology is neither good nor bad,
Aiken stressed the need to use digital devices and social media with restraint.

"If you are a parent or caregiver to a young infant, and if
you are consumed by your devices, then the infant is losing out," Aiken
said, adding that the average person looks at a cellphone 200 times, while
touching it about 2,500 times, in a given day.

By distracting parents from engaging with their children, digital
technology can hinder a child's development. Lack of eye contact can prevent a
child from bonding with parents, and Aiken said some preschool teachers have
had to train students to look directly at others.

In addition to developmental challenges, Aiken said digital media
presents serious security concerns for children and families. Prior to the
widespread availability of social media platforms, sexual predators had far
less direct access to child victims. Now, as young children gain increasing
access to smartphones, "we're giving a global audience access to the
child," Aiken said.

The panelists agreed that meeting the challenge social media
presents to family life can involve "simple but difficult" solutions,
such as committing to a regular meal together — something Pope Francis has
endorsed as a "fundamental experience."

Attendee Bridget Murphy of Dublin agreed.

"I think after Mass on Sunday we should sit down and just
get together and talk over dinner," she said.

Celia Barnes, a mother of 10 and grandmother of 13 from Wexford,
Ireland, emphasized that regular conversations at the kitchen table enable
parents "to find out what their kids are thinking."

Aiken drew applause when she called for "academic first
responders" who understand the urgency of studying the digital landscape
in a timely manner that results in practical strategies for protecting children
and families.

"More than safety, we need to teach children security, which
has a psychological aspect," Aiken said. "We need to teach children
good self-esteem, which makes them less likely to be targeted by
predators."

That task belongs to all the faithful, said panelist Teresa
Kettelkamp, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

In building "a foundation for universal child protection,
Kettelkamp urged attendees to focus on two key tasks, whether or not they were
directly responsible for children.

"We need to honor the sanctity of life," said
Kettelkamp, a retired colonel with the Illinois State Police. "And we need
to remember that if you have the ability to help, then you have the
responsibility to help — in your schools, your churches. This is part of your
purpose on earth."

An estimated 37,000 attendees from 116 countries are at the World
Meeting of Family's Aug. 22-24 pastoral congress, which features 290 speakers
as well as dozens of workshops and discussions.

After the pastoral congress, the international gathering will
conclude with a Festival of Families. Pope Francis arrives for that Aug. 25,
followed by a papal visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock and a final Mass
Aug. 26 in Dublin's Phoenix Park.